


Dance With Me

by violetstorm



Category: Tales of Berseria
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, rokunor - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-03 04:44:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11524821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetstorm/pseuds/violetstorm
Summary: Eleanor was overcome with worries and stress. Rokurou tries to help her deal with it.





	Dance With Me

**Author's Note:**

> This story I originally wrote myself back in March. I decided to turn it into a Rokunor fic. Apologies if it's a little OOC. Thank you in advance for reading~

The night was warm, and had it not been for the yellow light emanating from a bar, the world would have been completely dark. The bar was open even in the late hours of the night, with enough people to keep the bartenders busy. The faint smell of wine and beer filled the air and the dim torches on the wall did not help those inside stay sober.

Most people were sitting at tables, alone or with friends. Those with friends were jovial, laughing as the booze washed away their worries, while those who sat alone had hung heads and drinks that had been refilled far too many times. There was a piano, where a single man sat, playing, the music filling the spaces the laughter left behind.

Two people sat at a table next to a window. A man and a woman. The woman, with red hair tied back and a dress too formal for a bar was looking outside, her chin in her hands. The man had unkempt black hair that covered most of his face, and an outfit that seemed to have come from another land. He was engrossed in a letter, his eyes scanning the pages. They were silent. Two unfinished drinks, along with a plate of rice and chicken sat, untouched.

The man set the paper down with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. He pushed it towards the woman, who did not react. The man cleared his throat. “...Eleanor?”

The woman, Eleanor, finally tore her gaze from the window and to the man. “Yes, Rokurou?

Rokurou didn’t respond for a few, brief seconds. He took a deep breath. “So… now what?”

“Now what? Is that all you have to say?” Eleanor said indignantly. Rokurou gave a half-hearted shrug.

“I.. don’t know what else to say. It’s a pretty bad situation, huh?” Rokurou tried his best to smile, but found himself unable to.

“I think that’s an understatement,” Eleanor replied, with more spite in her tone than intended. “For daemons to attack, right after I…”

“What are you going to do, then?”

“I.. don’t know,” Eleanor said. She looked back out the window, to the empty streets, as if hoping to find her answer there.

“Guess even the Shepherd doesn’t get any time off, huh?”

“Please, don’t call me that. It’s strange, after everything with Artorius…”

“Yeah. I can see what you mean,” Rokurou followed Eleanor’s gaze. “It’s weird to hear people worship Artorius, after all that he’s done.”

“They don’t know the true story.” Eleanor sighed.

There was silence, as the two stared outside, the piano playing softly in the background. Finally, Rokurou reached out, placing his hands on top of Eleanor’s. “Look. You don’t need to make a decision right now. How long did the letter say you had? Five days?”

“It was six.”

“Isn’t that better?” Rokurou said. Eleanor didn’t reply. The music stopped, and even the laughter that once filled the bar vanished, leaving a suffocating silence between the two. How quickly an atmosphere can change.

“Let’s just… leave. I can’t think straight in a place like this,” Eleanor mumbled. She got up, and tried to move away from the table, but Rokurou grabbed at her arm, holding her still.

“Wait,” he said. “Can’t you set that aside for tonight? You’ve been working so hard and this is the first time that you’ve had a break in ages…”

It was. Ever since they managed to defeat Artorius, Eleanor had been working non-stop to bring the world back to its former glory. People were even calling her the “Shepherd”, much to Eleanor’s dismay. Rokurou could barely remember when he last saw Eleanor without bags under her eyes and worries that a woman like her shouldn’t have to bear.

“You can take home the food. They’ll let you,” Eleanor said. “I need to go, Rokurou. _Please_.”

“Wait,” Rokurou said, once again, this time with a hint of desperation in his voice. If it weren’t for that damned letter…

“I’ll be fine,” Eleanor said, trying unsuccessfully to wrench her hand out of Rokurou’s grip. Both said nothing, staring at each other with longing and pleading looks. Until the piano began to play once more, and Rokurou’s eyes lit up with a new excitement. He stood, Eleanor’s hand still in his own, and began to lead her to the center of the bar. Eleanor shot him a dangerous look, to which he paid no heed, for there was something else that caught his interest.

“Come with me.”

“Where?”

“I want to dance.”

“ _W_ _hat?_ ” Eleanor asked, clearly taken aback. She pulled her hand away from Rokurou’s and looked at him with surprise clearly written across her features. Rokurou only grinned.

“You need to have some fun for once. Let loose, enjoy life.”

“But the letter—”

“The letter can wait.”

“Our food will get cold.”

“The food can wait too.”

There were no other excuses for Eleanor to make, and Rokurou seemed dead-set on dancing with her. She groaned, massaging at her temples. When she opened her eyes, Rokurou had his hand held out, inviting her. Eleanor hesitated, and as she did, the piano seemed to grow louder, coaxing her into making a decision. She placed her hand into Rokurou’s.

“Do you even know how to dance?”

“I’m a fast learner,” Rokurou said with a lopsided smile as he led Eleanor away from any tables and chairs. He pulled her closer to his body, one arm on Eleanor’s waist, the other in her own.

“I hope you know what type of song this is,” Eleanor said, looking up towards Rokurou. He chuckled.

“It’s a waltz, isn’t it? So you… move in steps of three?”

“Right. Just like this…”

Carefully, carefully, Eleanor guided Rokurou across the worn floorboards, to the soft tune of the piano playing in the background. Often, he would make a mistake, but Eleanor was patient as he taught him the footings. Though, she was sure that he was messing up on purpose, and using that as an excuse to prolong their dance.

Eleanor didn’t mind. Rokurou was right. She didn’t realize how much she needed this. For too long she was working alone, swamped by troubles and for once, in what seemed like an eternity, she could relax, if even for a moment. Time seemed to slow as they danced into the night, and together, they both wished this moment would last forever, for they knew that once they stopped dancing, they would return to reality and their worries would come rushing back.

But, for now, they were dancing. Their worries could wait.

**Author's Note:**

> I wonder what that letter was about. Ah, well. At least Eleanor had Rokurou there for her.


End file.
